497K 1 flexmanaged_497k.htm
THE PRUDENTIAL SERIES FUND
Flexible Managed Portfolio
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS • April 29, 2016
Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks. You can find the Portfolio's Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (SAI), Annual Report and other information about the Portfolio online at www.prudential.com/variableinsuranceportfolios. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-346-3778 or by sending an e-mail to: service@prudential.com. The Portfolio’s Prospectus and SAI, both dated April 29, 2016, as supplemented and amended from time to time, and the Portfolio’s most recent shareholder report, dated December 31, 2015 are all hereby incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The investment objective of the Portfolio is total return consistent with an aggressively managed diversified portfolio.
PORTFOLIO FEES AND EXPENSES
The table below shows the fees and expenses that you may pay if you invest in shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include Contract charges. Because Contract charges are not included, the total fees and expenses that you will incur will be higher than the fees and expenses set forth in the table. See your Contract prospectus for more information about Contract charges.
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
  Class I Shares
Management Fees .60%
+ Distribution and/or Service Fees (12b-1 Fees) None
+ Other Expenses .03%
= Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses .63%
Example. The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The table does not include Contract charges. Because Contract charges are not included, the total fees and expenses that you will incur will be higher than the fees and expenses set forth in the example. See your Contract prospectus for more information about Contract charges.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Flexible Managed Class I Shares $64 $202 $351 $786
Portfolio Turnover. The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio's performance. During the most recent fiscal year ended December 31, the Portfolio's turnover rate was 213% of the average value of its portfolio.
INVESTMENTS, RISKS AND PERFORMANCE
Principal Investment Strategies. The Portfolio invests in a mix of equity and equity-related securities, debt obligations and money market instruments. Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio typically invests approximately 60% of its assets in equity and equity-related securities (with a range of 25% to 100%) and approximately 40% of its assets in debt obligations and money market instruments (with a range of 0% to 75%). The percentage of Portfolio assets in each category is adjusted depending on the Portfolio's expectations regarding the different markets. The Portfolio may invest in foreign securities. A portion of the debt portion of the Portfolio may be invested in high-yield/high-risk debt securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”).
The equity portion of the Portfolio is generally managed under an “enhanced index style.” Under this style, the portfolio managers utilize quantitative investment models as a tool in seeking to outperform the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Stock Price Index and to limit the possibility of significantly underperforming that index.
4SUMPROS
Principal Risks of Investing in the Portfolio. The risks summarized below are the principal risks of investing in the Portfolio. All investments have risks to some degree and it is possible that you could lose money by investing in the Portfolio. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. While the Portfolio makes every effort to achieve its objectives, the Portfolio cannot guarantee success.
Asset-Backed and/or Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. Asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities are fixed income securities that represent an interest in an underlying pool of assets, such as credit card receivables or, in the case of mortgage-backed securities, mortgage loans. Like fixed income securities, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities are subject to interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and credit risk, which may be heightened in connection with investments in loans to “subprime” borrowers. Certain asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities are subject to the risk that those obligations will be repaid sooner than expected or later than expected, either of which may result in lower than expected returns. Mortgage-backed securities, because they are backed by mortgage loans, are also subject to risks related to real estate, and securities backed by private-issued mortgages may experience higher rates of default on the underlying mortgages than securities backed by government-issued mortgages.
Derivatives Risk. A derivative is a financial contract, the value of which depends upon, or is derived from, the value of one or more underlying investments, such as an asset, reference rate, or index. The use of derivatives involves a variety of risks, including the risk that: the party on the other side of a derivative transaction will be unable to honor its financial obligation; leverage created by investing in derivatives may result in losses to the Portfolio; derivatives may be difficult or impossible for the Portfolio to buy or sell at an opportune time or price, and may be difficult to terminate or otherwise offset; derivatives used for hedging may reduce or magnify losses but also may reduce or eliminate gains; and the price of commodity-linked derivatives may be more volatile than the prices of traditional equity and debt securities.
The SEC has proposed a new rule related to the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, which, if adopted by the SEC as proposed, may limit the Portfolio’s ability to engage in transactions that involve potential future payment obligations (including derivatives such as forwards, futures, swaps and written options) and may limit the ability of the Portfolio to invest in accordance with its stated investment strategy.
Equity Securities Risk. The value of a particular stock or equity-related security held by the Portfolio could fluctuate, perhaps greatly, in response to a number of factors, such as changes in the issuer’s financial condition or the value of the equity markets or a sector of those markets. Such events may result in losses to the Portfolio.
Expense Risk. The actual cost of investing in the Portfolio may be higher than the expenses shown in the “Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses” table above for a variety of reasons, including, for example, if the Portfolio’s average net assets decrease.
Fixed Income Securities Risk. Investment in fixed income securities involves a variety of risks, including that: an issuer or guarantor of a security will be unable to pay obligations when due; due to decreases in liquidity, the Portfolio may be unable to sell its securities holdings at the price it values the security or at any price; the Portfolio’s investment may decrease in value when interest rates rise. Volatility in interest rates and in fixed income markets may increase the risk that the Portfolio’s investment in fixed income securities will go down in value. Risks associated with rising interest rates are currently heightened because interest rates in the US are at, or near, historic lows.
Foreign Investment Risk. Investments in foreign securities generally involve more risk than investing in securities of US issuers, including: changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of foreign securities held by the Portfolio; foreign markets generally are more volatile than, and generally are not subject to regulatory requirements comparable to, US markets; foreign financial reporting standards usually differ from those in the US; foreign exchanges are often less liquid than US markets; political developments may adversely affect the value of foreign securities; and foreign holdings may be subject to special taxation and limitations on repatriating investment proceeds.
High Yield Risk. Investments in fixed income securities rated below investment grade and unrated securities of similar credit quality (i.e., high yield securities or junk bonds) may be more sensitive to interest rate, credit and liquidity risks than investments in investment grade securities, and have predominantly speculative characteristics.
Index Tracking Risk. The Portfolio’s ability to track the performance and/or holdings and weightings of an index with a high degree of correlation may be affected by, among other things, transaction costs and shareholder purchases and redemptions.
Liquidity and Valuation Risk. The Portfolio may hold one or more securities for which there are no or few buyers and sellers or the securities are subject to limitations on transfer. The Portfolio may be unable to sell those portfolio holdings at the desired time or price, and may have difficulty determining the value of such securities for the purpose of determining the Portfolio’s net asset value. In such cases, investments owned by the Portfolio may be valued at fair value pursuant to guidelines established by the Portfolio’s Board of Trustees. No assurance can be given that the fair value prices accurately reflect the value of security.
Market and Management Risk. Markets in which the Portfolio invests may experience volatility and go down in value, and possibly sharply and unpredictably. The investment techniques, risk analysis and investment strategies used by a subadviser in making investment decisions for the Portfolio may not produce the intended or desired results.
Model Design and Implementation Risks. The design of QMA's underlying models may be flawed or incomplete. These models are based on historical and theoretical underpinnings that QMA believes are sound, but there is no guarantee that these underpinnings will correlate with security price behavior in the manner assumed by the models or that the quantitative techniques that underlie QMA's portfolio construction processes will fully anticipate important risks. In addition, it is impossible to eliminate completely the risk of error in the implementation of the models that guide QMA's quantitative investment processes, and it may be difficult to implement model recommendations in volatile and rapidly changing market conditions.
Recent Events Risk. Events in the financial markets have caused, and may continue to cause, increased volatility and a significant decline in the value and liquidity of many securities. As a result, identifying investment risks and opportunities may be especially difficult. There is no assurance that steps taken by governments, and their agencies and instrumentalities, to support financial markets will continue, and the impact of regulatory changes on the markets may not be known for some time.
Regulatory Risk. The Portfolio is subject to a variety of laws and regulations which govern its operations. The Portfolio is subject to regulation by the SEC and/or the CFTC. Similarly, the businesses and other issuers of the securities and other instruments in which the Portfolio invests are also subject to considerable regulation. A change in laws and regulations may materially impact the Portfolio, a security, business, sector or market.
Past Performance. The bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio's performance from year to year and by showing how the Portfolio's average annual returns for 1, 5, and 10 years compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Past performance does not mean that the Portfolio will achieve similar results in the future.
The annual returns and average annual returns shown in the chart and table are after deduction of expenses and do not include Contract charges. If Contract charges were included, the returns shown would have been lower than those shown. Consult your Contract prospectus for information about Contract charges.
The table also demonstrates how the Portfolio's performance compares to the returns of a custom blended stock index which includes stocks of companies with similar investment objectives. The custom blended index consists of the S&P 500 Index (60%), the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index (35%) and the 3-Month T-Bill Index (5%). The Portfolio’s investment manager determined the weight of each index comprising the blended index.
  
    
Best Quarter: Worst Quarter:
11.07% -12.79%
2nd Quarter of 2009 4th Quarter of 2008
  
 
 
Average Annual Total Returns (For the periods ended December 31, 2015)      
  1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
Flexible Managed Class I Shares 1.01% 9.78% 6.75%
    
Index      
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 1.39% 12.55% 7.30%
Flexible Managed Custom Blended Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 1.26% 8.77% 6.30%
MANAGEMENT OF THE PORTFOLIO
Investment Manager Subadviser Portfolio Managers Title Service Date
Prudential Investments LLC Quantitative Management Associates LLC Edward F. Keon Jr. Managing Director February 2009
    Joel M. Kallman, CFA Vice President February 2009
    Stacie L. Mintz, CFA Managing Director August 2006
Investment Manager Subadviser Portfolio Managers Title Service Date
  PGIM, Inc.* Richard Piccirillo Principal and Portfolio Manager February 2013
    Michael J. Collins, CFA Managing Director & Senior Investment Officer February 2013
    Gregory Peters Senior Portfolio Manager April 2014
. *PGIM, Inc. was formerly known as Prudential Investment Management, Inc.
TAX INFORMATION
Contract owners should consult their Contract prospectus for information on the federal tax consequences to them. In addition, Contract owners may wish to consult with their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investments in the Contracts and the Portfolio, including the application of state and local taxes. The Portfolio currently intends to be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Portfolio's income, gains, losses, deductions, and credits are “passed through” pro rata directly to the Participating Insurance Companies and retain the same character for federal income tax purposes.
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY COMPENSATION
If you purchase your Contract through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Participating Insurance Company, the Portfolio or their related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Contract, the selection of the Portfolio and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Contract over another investment or insurance product, or to recommend the Portfolio over another investment option under the Contract. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
   
By Mail: The Prudential Series Fund, 655 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102
By Telephone: 1-800-346-3778
On the Internet: www.prudential.com/variableinsuranceportfolios
4SUMPROS